I was aboard Randolph from Aug of '59 to Dec of '61 and was there during the collision. We were playing cards in the IC room when the word was passed to stand by for a collision and she was backing down so hard the deck plates were jumping. The passageway forward at the site was crunched less than a foot wide. The deck looked like an accordian and 3 staterooms were ripped completely off the ship along with a 5" gunmount.Glad to hear Captain Cook wasn't blamed, he was a great skipper. I retired as an FTCS in '77.
today 53 years ago, reported aboard randolph, one cold feb. nite. ship was in dry dock portsmouth.was a great experience, sure hope to see former quartermasters, post notes. god bless.
Served on USS Randolph 1956--1957 as JO3 and editor of RANDOLPH ROUNDUP newspaper. Enjoyed Med cruise in 6th Fleet and Suez event, and especially Spain and France. Any X Division guys left?